Manifestation of Iranian EFL Learners Extent of Critical Thinking Orchestrated by Feedback Types in Writing

This study aimed at investigating the contribution of paper-based and web-assisted feedback on Iranian EFL learners’ critical thinking. Besides, it was endeavored to explore the extent of feedback contributions to the five levels of critical thinking. Accordingly, a non-randomized control group pre/post-test design was taken into consideration, accounting for the two experimental treatments along with a control. The participants’ critical thinking were initially rated prior to the 11-session treatments, and finally were rated again at the end of the semester. The results of the one-way between-groups ANOVA indicated a statistically significant difference between the critical thinking scores of the four groups with respect to the type of feedback they received. Moreover, the results of paired samples t-test showed a statistically significant increase in all the four within-group critical thinking scores from pretest to posttest. Furthermore, the results of MANOVA illuminated a 23% significant feedback contribution to the argument level of critical thinking, substantially due to the web-assisted type. Finally, some pedagogical implications were proposed accordingly.